Expanding ornament



March 21, 1944. J. M. PETTOROSSI EXPANDING-ORNAMENT Filed July 18, 19422 Sheets-Sheet 1 Arr mm March 21, 1944. p o oss 2,344,723

Patented Mar. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXPANDING ORNAMENTJoseph M. Pettorossi, New York, N. Y., assignor to Paper Novelty Mfg.00., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 18,1942, Serial No. 451,401

8 Claims. (Cl. 41-41) The invention relates to an ornament of the typeconventionally used for decorative purposes during the Christmas seasonand which takes the form of a bell or similar object. The ornament isconstituted of a plurality of adjacent and superposed leaves joinedtogether in honeycomb fashion which are sold in flat folded condition,but may be brought to the expanded condition to form a bell by rotatingthe two sections thereof about an axis, usually the central,longitudinal axis, the bell being retained in its expanded condition bymeans of metal clips provided along the edge of one of the backingstrips of the leaves and which are bent around the edge of the otherbacking strip.

Ornaments of this character have been made and marketed for many yearsand the present invention relates to an improvement in the constructionthereof whereby the ornament is brought to its expanded condition andheld in such condition by a string or cord which acts at the same timeas a means of suspending the ornament in its decorative position, forinstance on a Christmas tree.

The ornament is ordinarily made of a plurality of sheets of tissuepaper, although it may be made of other material, for instanceCellophane or the like.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a.construction of such an expanding ornament in which the use of all metalparts is eliminated. In addition to the two or more metal clips whichhave been conventionally used in the fabrication of this type ofornament to maintain the ornament in open, expanded condition, fasteningmembers such as metal staples have been used which have extended throughtabs provided along the inner edges of the two backing strips, by meansof which the superposed leaves or layers of tissue paper have beenjoined together or retained upon such backing strip in addition togluing the immediately adjacent leaf or layer of the tissue paper tosuch backing strips. The construction of ornament which I have devisedeliminates the necessity of using such staples and also the clips.

In accordance with the construction of my invention, I utilize a singlelength of cord, which is so disposed and secured upon certain portionsof the ornament, that it is utilized in the operation of expanding theplurality of tissue paper leaves to bring the ornament to the bellor'other form, and at the same time, secures such ornament in its fullyexpanded condition, by the simple expedient of pulling upon the free endof the cord extending upwardly from the top extremity of the ornamentand then using such free end of the cord as the means of suspending theornamerit in its fully expanded condition, when it is in the shape ofthe bell.

Particular embodiments of my invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a front view of the foldedornament;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the ornament, in which one of the backingstrips has been rotated 180 about the axis formed by its inner edge;

Fig. 3 is a front View of the ornament with the bell opened toapproximately three-quarters of its fully expanded position, i. e., inwhich one of the backing strips has been rotated about the axis;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the ornament showing in full lines theexpansion thereof to the extent shown in Fig. 3 and in dotted lines thefurther expanding of the ornament;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the backing strips of the superposedleaves or layers of tissue p p Fig. 6 is a plan view of the otherbacking strip; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a slightly modified form of one ofthe backing strips.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in which similar referencecharacters identify similar parts in the several views, the ornament ofthe familiar bell type illustrated, is formed of a body of a pluralityof adjacent superposed leaves or layers Ill joined together by suitablydisposed adhesive material to form a honeycomb structure in the form ofa half bell. It will be understood, of course, that while the particularform of my invention is illustrated as an orna ment forming a bell inits expanded condition,

my invention is of equal utility and may be applied to ornaments of anycharacter, whether in the form of a sphere, a diamond-shaped solid, orof any other shape operating on the same principle and having the samegeneral construction.

The leaves or layers H! are die-cut to their intended shape, with a pairof tabs I I and I2 along their inner straight edges, which edges definethe axis of rotation about which the bell unfolds. In the conventionalmethod of fabricating this type of ornament heretofore practiced, theleaves are secured together by means of two staples extending throughthe tabs H and I2. In accordance with my invention, however, and inorder to eliminate the necessity of using any metallic means whatsoeverin the fabrication of the ornament, the leaves are fastened together bydipping the tabs I l and I2 in a solution of a suitable adhesive,whereby such leaves are then held together at such tabs by suchadhesive. The adhesive is sought to be illustrated in the drawingsthroughout the tabs l I and I2 by means of the stipling.

The outermost leaves of the layers ii] are secured by pasting, forinstance by any suitable adhesive, to a pair of backing or reinforcingstrips l3 and I 4. Each of these backing strips is of conventionalconfiguration, except that near their lower exterior roundedextremities, there is provided a cut-out or channel l5 of comparativelynarrow width and extending inwardly either at right angles to the inneredge of the backing strips or slightly inclined, as is shown in thedrawing, to such right angular disposition. The purpose and functioningof these cut-outs or channels will be described more fully hereinafter.The backing strips i3 and M, which, for instance, may be of cardboard,conform generally to the outline of the leaves Iii.

In one form of the invention, illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 of thedrawings, there .is secured to the interior surface of one of thebacking strips, a small strip I5 (see Figs. 2 and 3), also of cardboard,and extending partway down the upper surface of such backing strip,which has formed integrally therewith a tab ll extending upwardly fromthe bell ornament and which conveniently, for decorative purposes, maybe in the outline of a bow and may carry any design or legend such asMerry Christmas and appropriate holly decorations. Substantially in thecenter of the tab ii, and in vertical alignment with the axis ofrotation of the ornament, is an aperture H3.

The means of unfolding the ornament, and to retain the same in suchunfolded condition, comprises a length of cord or string H! which,during the fabrication of the ornament, has its lower portion 2!] (seeFigs. 2 and 3) secured by the adhesive extending throughout the innersurface of the backing strip- I3 and which lower portion of the cord issecured to such backing strip surface concurrently with the securementof such backing strip to the adjacent one of the plurality of superposedleaves Ill. The cord is then passed through the angularly disposedcutout l5 and across the opposite unpasted surface of the strip l3 andthen across the unpasted surface of the backing strip M on the oppositeside of the axis of rotation of the ornament, when it passes within theangularly disposed cut-out I5 of the second backing strip l4. From therethe cord H3 is passed upwardly across and diagonally over the underlyingsurface of the backing strip M in the area H of the surface of suchbacking strip which has not been provided with paste or adhesive (theremaining surface of such backing strip being so provided, so as to haveadhesively secured thereto the adjacent leaf of the plurality of leavesor layers of tissue paper). The cord is then passed upwardly over thesurface of the decorative tab I! and passed through the aperture 18therein.

In the operation of expanding the ornament to its bell shape, it is onlynecessary for one to grasp the free end of the cord is by a portionthereof extending through the aperture l8 and to exert a pull upon thecord, after opening the leaves Iii, by grasping the two curved edges ofthe backing strips l3 and I4, to a position thereof approximatelyillustrated in Fig. 3. By pulling upon the cord in the direction of thearrows in Figs. 2 and 3, the two backing strips I 3 and M will bebrought further toward each other by shortening the length of cordextending between the opposed faces of the backing strips l3 and [4, asshown in Fig. 4, and thereby move the two backing strips toward eachother. By continuing to pull upon the cord IS, the length r of cordextending between the backing strips l3 and I4 and diagonally across theopen space therebetween will be taken up, and the leaves ill will bebrought by the movement of the backing strips to the completely opencondition in which the two outer faces of the backing strips abut. Whenthe complete expansion of the ornament to the bell shape has thus beenaccomplished, by pulling the cord l9 upwardly as far as it will go, thecord may be released and the ornament will be held in its expandedcondition by the friction and binding action of the cord against thebacking I4 and at its various turns. The ornament may then be suspendedfrom any suitable support, for instance the branch of a Christmas tree,by means of the loose upper extremity of the cord 19.

In order to refold the ornament, it is only necessary to grasp theornament with the thumbs positioned along the arcuate edges of thebacking strips and pull the two backing strips apart whereby there takesplace the reverse operation of pulling the cord l9 downwardly andextending the length of the portion thereof stretching from one backingstrip to the other, until the backing strips are in substantialalignment, when they can be folded together.

It is not absolutely essential to have the upper free end of the cordpass through the aperture 43, but such upper end of the cord may bemerely twisted around the upwardly extending portions 22 of the backingstrips 13 and I4 and the end of the cord left extending upwardly.However, to have the ornament suspended in precise vertical position itis preferable to thread the cord l9 through the aperture I8.

In Fig. 7 there is illustrated the upper fragment of a backing strip 23of slightly different configuration in its upper portion. Either one ofthe backing strips l3 or M of the first embodiment may be replaced by abacking strip such as 23 which is provided with an upwardly extendingtab 25 having a central aperture 25 through which the cord may be passedif the ornament is not provided with a decorative tab such as ll of thefirst embodiment. The operation of expanding and folding together theornament having a backing strip of the configuration of the backingstrip 23 is identical with the expending and unfolding of the firstembodiment.

In the construction of my novel expanding ornament, I have accomplishednot only the elimination of all metal parts, but have produced anornament, the construction of which greatly facilitates the operation ofopening it to the expanded condition and refolding it to a fiatcondition. The use of the cord to bring the ornament to its expandedcondition and to retain it in such condition, prolongs greatly the lifeof the ornament, because in the conventional constructions, theoperation of bending the metal clips carried by one backing strip aroundthe edge of the other backing strip, frequently involves crushing ordestruction of the adjacent portions of the very fragile tissue paperconstituting the honeycomb leaf construction of the ornament. Inexpanding or refolding the ornament of my construction, it is nevernecessary for the operator to bring any fingers or any portions of thehand into contact with the very fragile material (tissue paper)constituting the leaves of the ornament. Furthermore, when the ornamenthas been brought to its expanded condition, it is automatically retainedin such condition by the fact that a positive downward pull is requiredon the cord in order to disturb the condition of the ornament. Once theornament has been suspended by means of the cord, it will always retainits fully expanded condition in the precise form in which it was hung.

While I have described specific embodiments of my invention, it isobvious that various modifications therein may be made, for instance inthe configuration and disposition of the cut-outs and of the cord,without departing from my invention, so long as the principle,constituting the basis for the construction f my novel ornament, isutilized.

I claim:

1. In an expanding ornament comprising a pair of backing strips hingedlyassociated about a longitudinal axis and having secured between opposedfaces thereof an expansible element constituted of a plurality ofsuperposed leaves interconnected to form a honeycomb structure, a stringsecured in fixed position at one end to one of said backing strips andextending from said strip transversely to the longitudinal axis to theother strip and means on such other strip providing for a change indirection of said string toward said end of the ornament, the stringpassing to and emerging at such end, whereby a pull exerted upon saidstring is effective to aid in moving the two backing strips toward eachother.

2. An expanding ornament, comprising a pair of backing strips rotatableabout an axis approximating their contiguous, hingedly associated inneredges, an expansible element constituted of a plurality of superposedleaves interconnected to form a honeycomb structure and secured betweenopposed faces of said backing strips, and a string adhesively secured toone of said backing strips, said string emerging from said one strip ata distance from its inner edge, and extending to the other strip, meanson such other strip providing for a change in direction of said stringtoward the upper end of the ornament, the string passing upwardly to apoint approximately in line with the axis of rotation of said backingstrips, whereby a pull exerted upwardly upon said string is effective toaid in moving the two backing strips toward each other.

3. An expanding ornament, comprising a pair of backing strips rotatableabout an axis approximating their contiguous, hingedly associated inneredges, an expansible element constituted of a. plurality of superposedleaves interconnected to form a honeycomb structure and secured betweenopposed faces of said backing strips, and a string secured at one end toone of said backing strips, and passing to the other strip, means onsuch other strip providing for a change in direction of said stringtoward the upper end of the ornament, the string passing upwardly to apoint approximately in line with the axis of rotation of said backingstrips whereby a pull exerted upwardly upon said string is effective tobring the ornament, after partial opening, to its fully expandedcondition, the points of emergence of the string from the backing stripsbeing spaced from the inner edges to provide sufficient leverage for thefrictional and binding forces to overcome any tendency of the expandedleaves to separate the backing strips and move them toward the collapsedcondition.

4. An expanding ornament as claimed in claim 2 in which the two backingstrips each have cutouts extending inwardly from their outer edges at anangle to the inner edges thereof, said cut-outs guiding the string overthe surfaces of said backing strips.

5. An expanding ornament as claimed in claim 3 in which the two backingstrips each have cutouts extending inwardly from their curved outeredges at an angle to the inner edges thereof and opposite the line ofsecurement of the string to the first backing strip, the string beingguided by the inner edges of said cut-outs.

6. An expanding ornament as claimed in claim 3, in which one of saidbacking strips is provided with adhesive throughout one face thereofwith the exception of a limited area extending diagonally and upwardlythereof, for accommodating the free movement of the string over saidunpasted portion of said backing strip.

'7. An expanding ornament as claimed in claim 3, having a decorative tabsecured to the upper portion of one of said backing strips, said tabhaving an aperture for the passage of the string therethrough.

8. An expanding ornament as claimed in claim 3 in which the plurality ofsuperposed leaves constituting the expansible element are provided withtabs along their inner straight edges, the honeycomb structureconstituted of such superposed leaves being joined together at such tabsby an adhesive permeating the sheets at such tabs.

JOSEPH M. PETTOROSSI.

